I'm just gonna lay it all out on the table (ahem, forum), and see what happens.

I'm looking for beta reader(s) - the kind that want to stick around for more than one ms. I'm hoping someone else out there is too.

This is the kind of partnership I'm hoping for:

1) We trade manuscripts. I mean, maybe not right away. Maybe we start out slow with the first couple chapters and test each other out a little. But the idea is that we both have completed ms's that we are willing to send out into the great cyber-beyond for feedback.

2) We're not exactly beginners. We've been practicing our crafts for years, but now we've finally gotten serious about that writing career we've started dreaming about. Since we've polished as much as we can on our own, we have a pretty good idea where we want to go - and where we want our manuscripts to go - but we need a little help getting there.

3) We offer affectionate criticism on character, pacing, plot holes, reactions to scenes, etc. Affectionate criticism = the kind of well-meaning, helpful hint you might expect from a good friend. Not "Eww, gross!" but something more like, "Hey, lady, you have something green stuck between your teeth. You might want to go take care of that before you go out in public."

4) We communicate honestly about schedules, and we try incredibly hard to do whatever we said we would do by the time we agreed on. I mean, there's wiggle room too. Everybody has days like, "OMG, my boss gave me a last minute deadline tonight, I'll be here until 1AM, and is it okay if I send that feedback to you on Monday instead?" But the point is to tell the other person.

5) A sense of humor is also a plus.

I swear I'll hold up my end of the above - even the sense of humor (though you might not think I'm funny).

I should also mention that middle grade fantasy is my first love - and the genre of my ms. If it's not your cup of tea, we're probably not meant to be critique partners.

Personally, I'm not really a crime, thriller, horror, or mystery person. I read a wide spectrum, but I probably have the most experience in MG and YA.

So, does this strike a chord in anyone? If you're interested, please PM me or respond below! We can swap book descriptions and first chapters, and then go from there. :-)

Thanks!!

P.S. You know, after reading a bunch of these beta-reader-wanted postings, I'm finding them scarily similar to personal ads. Mine too, obviously. It amuses me.

Feathers

01-03-2011, 02:07 AM

I PM'd you :)

Shelbs

01-03-2011, 05:36 AM

I PM'd you :)

I PM'ed you back! :-D Let me know if you don't get it...

Shelbs

01-04-2011, 11:12 PM

I've connected with a good number of betas, so this thread is now officially closed. Thanks so much, AW peeps! :-)